By Eugene Volokh

"Guns Did Not Protect Those Who Possessed Them from Being Shot in an Assault."

So reports a press release posted at ScienceDaily.com, which also says:

The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.

“This study helps resolve the long-standing debate about whether guns are protective or perilous,” notes study author Charles C. Branas, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology. “Will possessing a firearm always safeguard against harm or will it promote a false sense of security?” …

Penn researchers investigated the link between being shot in an assault and a person’s possession of a gun at the time of the shooting. As identified by police and medical examiners, they randomly selected 677 cases of Philadelphia residents who were shot in an assault from 2003 to 2006. Six percent of these cases were in possession of a gun (such as in a holster, pocket, waistband, or vehicle) when they were shot.

These shooting cases were matched to Philadelphia residents who acted as the study’s controls. To identify the controls, trained phone canvassers called random Philadelphians soon after a reported shooting and asked about their possession of a gun at the time of the shooting. These random Philadelphians had not been shot and had nothing to do with the shooting. This is the same approach that epidemiologists have historically used to establish links between such things as smoking and lung cancer or drinking and car crashes.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- A letter signed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Second Amendment Task Force raising important questions about the National Park Service's intent to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has been sent to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The letter, which follows a similar message sent to Salazar by U.S. senators, was applauded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

A bipartisan working group dedicated to defending the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, the task force wrote that "the rationale for such a ban is not based on sound scientific analysis and it would greatly restrict the ability of sportsmen to engage in hunting and fishing activities in the national parks that permit those activities."